Property tax in Stephens County, Georgia

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

In Stephens County, the property tax bill comes from the Stephens County Tax Commissioner. The 2026 bill is due November 15, 2026. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Stephens County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.

The median property tax bill in Stephens County, Georgia is $1,424 a year, which is about 0.81% of the county's median home value of $175,300. That effective rate is lower than the typical Georgia county (0.86%) and about the same as the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.

Who sends the property tax bill in Stephens County, and how do you pay it?

The bill comes from the Stephens County Tax Commissioner. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Stephens County Board of Tax Assessors, which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.

Homeowners inside the City of Toccoa also pay city property tax, which the City Clerk's office bills and collects separately from the county bill. Homestead exemptions are applied for at the Tax Assessor's office, not the Tax Commissioner, and must be filed by April 1.

When are property taxes due in Stephens County?

For the 2026 bill, Stephens County has one due date: November 15, 2026. November 15 is Stephens County's normal due date for real estate taxes. November 15, 2026 is a Sunday; the county has not said whether it accepts payment on the next business day, and the last weekday before the due date is Friday, November 13. Under state law you have at least 60 days from the bill's postmark to pay in full before interest starts, so the date on your bill controls if bills go out late. After the due date, interest is charged every month until the bill is paid, at the rate set by Georgia law (the bank prime rate plus 3% a year, 9.75% for 2026). A 5% penalty is added for every 120 days the taxes stay unpaid after the due date; homesteaded property with a tax bill under $500 is not charged the penalty. If taxes stay unpaid, the Tax Commissioner can levy on the property and it can be sold.

From Stephens County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. The county had not posted a calendar labeled for this cycle when we checked, so these dates come from state law and the county's standing schedule; the date on your bill is the one that binds you.

Estimate the property tax on a home in Stephens County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Stephens County's average effective rate of 0.81% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.

Home market value

Estimated property tax: $1,420 / year

Property tax in Stephens County at a glance

Stephens County, Georgia property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$1,424
Median home value	$175,300
Effective tax rate	0.81%
Typical Georgia county rate	0.86%
National median county rate	0.81%

Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

How does Stephens County compare in Georgia?

Among Georgia's 158 counties, Stephens County has the 98th highest effective property-tax rate: 97 rank higher and 60 rank lower. That is on the lower side for Georgia. Nationally, it ranks 1550th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Georgia county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Stephens County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Stephens County's 7,748 owner-occupied homes, 14% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 24.8% pay at least $2,000, and 24.4% pay under $800. Another 11.5% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Stephens County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	1,894	24.4%
$800 to $1,499	1,706	22%
$1,500 to $1,999	1,339	17.3%
$2,000 to $2,999	833	10.8%
$3,000 or more	1,085	14%
No property tax paid	891	11.5%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,551 and owners without one pay $1,225. Owners who have paid off a home have usually held it longer, and in states that cap how fast an existing owner's assessment can rise, long-held homes carry lower assessed values. Census table B25103.

How does the Stephens County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $1,424 is about 2.2% of the median income of Stephens County homeowner households, $65,409 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 73.6% of Stephens County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.

Have property taxes gone up in Stephens County?

Yes. The median bill went from $1,065 in 2015-2019 to $1,424 in 2020-2024, a 33.7% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 66.5%, from $105,300 to $175,300. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.

Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.

Property tax in counties next to Stephens County

Stephens County borders 4 counties, 1 of them across the state line.

Stephens County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
Stephens County, GA (this county)	0.81%	$1,424	$175,300
Franklin County, GA	0.72%	$1,288	$179,000
Banks County, GA	0.6%	$1,663	$278,100
Habersham County, GA	0.59%	$1,403	$238,300
Oconee County, SC	0.38%	$899	$237,100

How is a home assessed in Stephens County?

Georgia assesses homes at 40% of market value in every county, Stephens County included. How Georgia assesses and reappraises homes.

Is there a homestead exemption in Stephens County?

Yes. Georgia's standard homestead exemption deducts $2,000 from the assessed value of a resident's primary home. That is the Georgia rule, and it applies in Stephens County. Georgia's exemptions and relief programs in full.

On top of the Georgia programs, Stephens County runs its own:

Local senior exemption (age 65 and older): Homeowners 65 or older can claim an additional local homestead exemption from state, county and school taxes with no income limit; the county's pages do not print its amount, so ask the Tax Assessors' Office what it is worth. Apply by April 1.

How to appeal your Stephens County property assessment

In Stephens County you appeal to the Stephens County Board of Tax Assessors, then the Board of Equalization or arbitration. The deadline: In writing to the Board of Tax Assessors, postmarked within 45 days of the date the assessment notice was mailed. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.

How Georgia's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.

Georgia rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Georgia page.

Work out your own numbers

Sources

Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Stephens County, Georgia: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.